Dinner Party
by Nightshade1999
Summary: It is the one time everyone makes themselves scarce two weeks ahead of time—the monthly Seven and Friends Reunion. So is should not be a surprise when the party comes up at the end of the month. If anything, he should have known in advance, but between all the excitement and stress, Nico forgot. So Nico should not be surprised when his sister calls him for a favor, except he is.
1. Chapter 1

There are three specific things Hazel enjoys the most about her time in the mortal world: horses, animation, and parties. The fascination of the latter is purely directed toward another kind of party. Hazel does not worry about the Christmas parties or the casual Thanksgiving dinners; those were Annabeth and Jason's babies, respectively. No, Hazel worries about something she considers more demanding. It is not during the holiday season that Hazel frets over decorations, the invitation lists and the menus. Nor does she fuss about transportation methods, closed supermarkets, and the inevitable clogging of the toilet due to someone's irritable bowel syndrome. Oh no, there is only one event that turns the calm and rational daughter of Pluto into a dissolved mess of tears and aggravation. Hazel yells when the place mats are dirty, paces when her guests are late, and cries when her dessert is lumpy compared to smooth. It is the one time everyone makes themselves scarce two weeks ahead of time—the monthly Seven and Friends Reunion. So is should not be a surprise when the party comes up at the end of the month. If anything, he should have known in advance, but between all the excitement and stress, Nico forgot. So Nico should not be surprised when his sister calls him for a favor, except he is. He is very surprised.

The morning starts with wet open mouth kisses to his vertebrae. It's something Will likes to call pre-round four but Nico could care less. The sun is hovering high in the sky, and only the warmth of his boyfriend, the comfort of the bed, and the knowledge that it is Sunday makes the son of Hades stay in bed. The kisses get lowed to the middle of his back and Nico squirms, stopping all of Will's romantic endeavors and wrapping a pale leg around his lover's waist. Will's chest is even warmer against Nico's face and he cannot help himself as Nico tucks himself deeper in his boyfriend's embrace, trying to stay as small as possible. Despite what he emphatically claims, the son of Hades relishes being the little spoon of the relationship, giving his trust to another person. His latest growth spurt caused some spooning awkwardness and he can only be thankful that Will is just shy of being Frank's height. To make matters worse, Will has been working hard in medical school, leaving less time for him to wine and dine his demigod lover before taking him to bed. So, do not hate Nico if he admits, blushing, that he enjoyed the Broadway play, the fancy dinner at the restaurant, and passionate steamy romance from the night before. In order to avoid parting from his blissful morning, the demigod rolls himself into his lover's arms and falls into a peaceful slumber. Or tries to once the screams start.

At first, Nico believes he is caught in a dream. Loud screams echo across the room, but somehow Will and he managed to ignore it and continue sleeping. Then, the shrill ring of Jersey Boys echoes from Nico's smartphone and said demigod swallows a groan. It is a Sunday, a blissful Sunday, and he refuses to wake for any godforsaken thing. His boyfriend is only partially asleep, but his mouth is moving against his collarbone. The groggy teen glares at his cellphone for interrupting the sleepy kisses he enjoys reaping on mornings like this. Nico reaches over to take it, takes one look at the time, and explodes. When he reflects on it later, Nico feels he had every right to be beyond pissed. The noisy shriek of 'Shirley Baby' plays once more before Nico answers it with an angry and tired disposition.

"What the absolute fuck are you calling me for at 10 fucking a.m. in the goddamn morning? Do YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS HERE?" His voice raises toward the end and Will blearily looks at him, giving him the evil eye as he pulls Nico closer by the waist.

"Babe, you need to chill." He mutters against his neck and Nico fights the urge to squeal as those hands make small patterns against his ribs, traitorous tingles trailing through his body. He needs to sound threatening.

Nico puts the phone next to his chest. "I am trying to be intimidating right now William."

"Stop channeling your father," Is the only smart response as the son of Apollo pays no heed to his intentions, only making more twirling patterns with his fingers. As Nico puts the phone back to his ear, all he can hear is raucous laughter erupting from the other end. Nico pulls the phone away puzzled and waits as the laughing calms down and he hears a familiar hiccupping sound. Well, shit. He knows that sound.

"Well, I find it odd that you are still in bed at 10:45 in the morning. Don't you usually go somewhere?" Reyna asks on the other end and Nico sighs. He is going to pay for this when he sees her again.

"It's the weekend." He huffs. "I do not wake before twelve in the afternoon." He plops back onto the soft pillows.

"Well, I decided to call you before Hazel tries to talk to you again. She is a little traumatized at what she saw this morning. Which is? " Nico groggily raises an eyebrow until he remembers the screams and groans pathetically.

"I thought that was a dream."

"You dreamt that you mooned your sister."

"No, I heard screaming and thought it was a dream. I was spooning. No sex, I promise,"

"Good then. I'm going to tell her it is safe to talk." There is some shuffling in the background and laughing.

"Hi Nico," Hazel says shyly from the other end.

"I'm so sorry I cussed you out. And that you watched me cuddle with my boyfriend." He sighs.

"It's okay. I just kind of wanted to see your face while you were screaming. I'd imagine it would be red and blotchy." She giggles. "In all honesty, I was calling to see if you would come by today."

At this point, Nico is trying, really trying to pay attention to his little sister. Will's hands are drifting over ribs and trailing over the lower plains of his stomach and his mouth is pressed to his stomach. He really needs to set parameters for both phone conversations and sexy times. One has to take priority.

"Really," Nico's breath hitches without permission as Will's left hand brushes over the sensitive portion of his foot. "I did not know we had something planned for today." At the end of his sentence, his voice is cracking, Will is massaging his foot, and he does not want this morning to end.

"Nico, are you okay? Do I need to call back later?" Hazel sounds suspicious and cautious, and the mix is not good.

"No of course not." He bats Will's head away from his skin and motions to his phone. The son of Apollo pouts but grins as he sets his sights on Nico's hairless legs and Nico lets out a low moan at the new sensation.

"Well, I need your help for the party this afternoon." Nico freezes and Will looks at him concerned, removing teeth from his thigh and mouths " _What's wrong"._

"I thought your party was next week." He tries to sound amicable, but the thought of Hazel's parties scare him beyond measure. There are dangerous quests, life-ending decisions, and then there are the experiences when your sister threatens to set you on fire and send you to the grave for icing the cake before it fully cools. Will pulls back immediately, horror apparent on his face and Nico has the strongest urge to mirror his expression.

"No, silly. It's this week. And I need you to help me cook. You're the only one I trust with something this important and Frank is going to a meeting and I need your help, please." Nico can only imagine his sister pleading. Her eyes wide, hopeful and innocent, bottom lip quivering with unspoken pleas and he melts.

"Fine," He concedes. "What time do I need to come by?"

"Around 3." She hums. "Oh, and bring Solace. I need to have a talk with the guy sleeping naked with my brother."

Hazel hangs up and Nico groans. So much for his good Sunday.


	2. Chapter 2

There are a few things Hazel still does not understand about the modern century: coffee machines, inflation, and her brother's attraction to Solace. Okay, she can partially understand it. She loves Will, in strictly a friend way, partly because he is a great guy and he makes her brother smile. She just hates the process that makes Nico smile. At first, their romance was innocent—a little hand holding, chaste kisses, and hugs. Now their interactions were borderline inappropriate with public make outs and flirty. Not to mention what she saw this morning. So, Hazel expects to have a conversation with them promptly at 3 p.m. However, the daughter of Pluto forgot one significant detail. Hazel promised to have her dinner ready by 8 p.m. eastern time.

Frank is at a Praetor meeting and Reyna is unavailable for an indeterminable amount of time. Both Percy and Annabeth suck in the kitchen and Jason is only good at making desert. Hazel cannot request that Piper make meaty entrée's and Leo and Calypso are traveling in from New York. So, Hazel resolves herself to do all the cooking.

"I can do this." She says confidently staring at her kitchen. She just needs to make four entrées, two deserts, and seven appetizer platters, including a few vegetarian options. Hazel fought in the Giant War, she can tackle a menu. Or so she thought.

When Nico enters her house with a queasy Will Solace by his side, all he can see is a short chocolate girl covered in flour, bawling her eyes out. Something is burning in the oven. A pot is boiling on the stove. And chocolate syrup is covering the syrup. He sighs and crouches down next to his sister.

"You tried to cook alone, again, didn't you?" He pulls a piece of cracked eggshell from her curls.

"I thought I could do it." Hazel cries out loud, tears streaming down faster. Awkwardly, Nico continues to clean his sister up.

"Okay, here is what we are going to do. I am going to help you cook. Will is going to help clean. And you can relax, okay. Go take a shower." She nods dully and walks off to her bathroom. A fully recovered Will looks around the disastrous kitchen, noticing the red sauce covering the floor.

"Do I want to know?" He asks dubiously. Nico shakes his head.

"No. C'mon, I promised her we would help to cook."

Hazel enjoys these nights when the group can gather and spend time together without worrying about work or monsters or any other stressful life ordeal. She especially loves it when her brother indulges her request for a cooking partner. Thirty minutes until 5 p.m. and the kitchen is spotless, Will has returned with the last of the fresh lettuce and tomatoes for the tossed salad and food is cooking. The kitchen area is filled with the warm comforting heat from baking tiramisu, simmering shrimp gumbo, popping chorizo, and bubbles from the boiling fettucine noodles for the squash pasta. And, with his sleeves pushed up to his elbows, black dress shirt clinging to his muscles, and furiously stirring the sauce for lasagna, Nico allows himself to smile.

Hazel ceased fretting in the kitchen after Will and Nico took the time to clean the ceiling. The cooking area was quite large, courtesy of her father. Although Pluto is not supposed to acknowledge his daughter's existence, he leaves extra money in Nico's allowance to split with her. Thus, her earning went toward the large villa she resides in with Frank, her brother (half of the time), and their friends, at least while the group is in California. It is not as if she needs a large acreage of land, but Reyna insisted as compensation for the Giant War and Frank's services to the legion. So, she converted a small portion to stables for her horses, Arion and Andromeda, and the other portion into a greenhouse. Most of the fresh produce came from Hazel's surprisingly successful garden, and that evokes pride from her every time it is mentioned.

"You're smiling." Hazel coos and kisses his cheek as she slips him a cherry tomato. "If you can get out of la-la land, I need this cut pronto for the bruschetta."

"I just cut tomatoes like three minutes ago." He quirks an eyebrow. His sister turns on him, her 'Kiss the Cook' apron covering her golden sundress and her hair is up in a loose bun.

"And you will cut more if I say so. You are still in trouble." Hazel raises an eyebrow in response and Nico sighs for the umpteenth time that day, picking up a knife and grabbing the chopping board.

"Alright, do you want me to cut more lettuce and onions while I'm at it?" His sister is right. She is not going to let his actions go, for the life of him.

"Do we need to have this discussion every month?" No, they do not. Apparently their friends have a lot of food peculiarities. Hazel has to make a special blue dish just for Percy, who swears up and down that she made it to tease his obsession with blue food. Leo always fights for leftovers. Piper needs her vegetarian food, and Hazel has started on stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer for her. Jason always brings brownies, but a party cannot be based on sweets. Reyna and Annabeth miraculously manage to burn any meal they put in the oven, despite being geniuses. And all the boys are bottomless pits. So he understands, in part. Somewhat. Hazel still needs to justify why Leo and Calypso do not cook if they are better at it.

"Because they are guests and not my brother," Hazel checks the oven. "The tiramisu is almost done."

"Can you put the lasagna in?"

"Of course." Silence permeates the kitchen for a second and Hazel slides closer to Nico.

"Nico, I'm not mad at you. If that is what you think, then what I feel is quite the opposite." Hazel starts. "I just worry about him taking advantage of you and I don't want you to feel used." She watches as her brother's chopping stops and he turns to her.

"I didn't tell you about what happened a few weeks ago, did I?" He begins.

"No," She is more interested now. Will enters the kitchen, but Nico waves him away. He is going to have a conversation with his sister and he does not need his boyfriend to interrupt.

"I've had a difficult time being a demigod, gay and from the forties. And, I realized recently, that without Will, I would have never accepted myself. I'm on a good path now. I'm in school, I have friends, I'm more social, and I love living life with him in it Hazel." He tells her honestly.

"That's good." Hazel smiles again. "Now record that speech so I can play it instead of watching Hallmark Christmas movies."

"Oh Gods, don't watch that dribble. Lifetime is better." Will calls from the couch.

"And you, sir, are still in trouble for sleeping next to my brother. You should be sleeping in separate beds unless you want to fondue and in that case, you should be married." Hazel huffs and Nico blushes bright red.

"That's a horrible thing to say." Nico complains. "I cannot get married at 17. It would be like 16 and Pregnant, only I'm a guy and I can't get pregnant." Nico snorts at his stupid joke.

"Well, you better get married. And I want to be in the wedding." Hazel giggles.

"You can be my Maid of Honor. There is a high possibility the role of flower girl is already going to Vera." Will goes into the kitchen and plops a ripe tomato into his mouth. "Fresh fruit is so much better than the imported goods we buy from the super market. Nico, are you sure we cannot call for my dad's chariot to bring these to New York?"

"For _gods sake_ , Solace, I am not riding a god-forsaken chariot into the sky to get blasted by Zeus." Nico yells. Hazel pats Will's cheek.

"If you are a good boy for the rest of the year, I suppose I could send a few samples."

"Yes, ma'am." Will grins.

"Don't call me that. It makes me feel old." She goes back to the oven and turns the stove off just as the doorbell rings.

"Ready to greet the cavalry?" She asks. Nico rolls his eyes.

"Always."


End file.
